Histone-modifying genes as biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the world's fifth most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related death in Taiwan. Over 600,000 HCC patients die each year worldwide despite recent advances in surgical techniques and medical treatments. Epigenetic regulations including DNA methylation and histone modification control gene expressions and play important roles during tumorigenesis. This study evaluates association between histone-modifying genes and prognosis of HCC to ferret out new diagnostic markers. We collected 50 paired HCC and adjacent non-cancerous tissues from Taiwanese patients for survey by RT-qPCR and tissue microarray-based immunohistochemistry (TMA-based IHC) staining. RT-qPCR data showed four of twenty-four genes over eightfold up-regulated in tumor tissues: e.g., histone phosphorylation gene-ARK2, methylation genes-G9a, SUV39H2, and EZH2 (n=50, all p<0.0001). Results of TMA-based IHC staining showed proteins of ARK2, EZH2, G9a, and SUV39H2 also overexpressed in tumor tissues. Staining intensity of SUV39H2 correlated with HCV infection (p=0.025). We further restricted the analysis only in tumor tissues, we found EZH2 staining intensity associated with tumor stage (p=0.016) and survival (p=0.007); SUV39H2 intensity associated with tumor stage (p=0.044). Our findings indicate overexpression of histone-modifying genes EZH2 and SUV39H2 associated with prognosis of HCC cases. EZH2 expression can serve as a novel prognostic biomarker during HCC progression among Taiwanese.